Replacement for Apricot Oil/What's the Deal with Sesame Oil?

[sandman_max]

Kind of the same question actually... I'm looking at a recipe for a hand balm. It's about half almond oil and half apricot kernel oil along with some butters and beeswax. I've got everything except the apricot kernel oil. I was looking at the properties of it and it seems like either grapeseed or sesame might offer some of the same properties. I've got both. However, (this is the "what's the deal" part), the sesame oil is just plain-old asian cooking oil and smells very much like sesame oil.

So I've got 2 questions: what would make a good replacement for the apricot kernel oil and should I not plan on using sesame oil from the supermarket for my body products?

By the way, I've also got Evening Primrose oil, walnut oil, pecan oil, jojoba and caster oil. Well, also the basic - olive, canola, liquid soybean (aka Wesson), coconut.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I wouldn't want to use a hand cream containing Sesame Oil from the supermarket. It smells horrible. I would use jojoba and a bit of grapeseed oil, along with the sweet almond oil. :wink:

 

[Hazel]

Yes, sesame oil from the grocery is extremely strong smelling. I wouldn't recommend it in a balm. I also wouldn't recommend the walnut or pecan oils because I don't think either has a very long shelf life.

I'd either use the evening primrose, olive or the soybean but this is just my opinion.

 

[sandman_max]

Oh, I want opinions. Y'all have a lot more experience than I do. Just out of curiosity, what can I use walnut & pecan nut oils for? I mean besides salad. Would they hold up in soap? They both have a pretty decent Oleic and linoleic acid content. And would they hold up in lotion better if i included jojoba, which supposedly helps stabilize short-life oils?

 

[Hazel]

I've used walnut oil in lotions and creams. Are your walnut and pecan oils food grade? If so, I don't know how much of a shelf life they'd have. I think walnut would be good oil for a balm but I would be concerned with it going rancid.

 

[carebear]

my sesame is odorless. I think it is - I'd double check but it's at another location and we have weather crap to contend with.
do you have the dark, roasted sesame oil there?

 

[Hazel]

I've heard cosmetic grade sesame has little or no odor. The sesame oil I've bought from the grocery is very dark and is made from roasted seeds. I also think it stinks.

 

[carebear]

roasted sesame oil is dark.
my sesame oil looks like soybean - just yellowish.

 

[Hazel]

Did you buy it at a grocery? Because the only sesame I've found is the dark one.

 

[carebear]

no, I get it from Columbus Foods/Soapers Choice.

 

[Hazel]

I'll have to get some from there. I like sesame in lotions but I didn't like the odor. Thanks for mentioning it. I don't know why I didn't think of CF/SC.

 

[sandman_max]

MMS also has the cosmetic grade sesame oil. That's what made me ask in the first place. I had just assumed that grocery stuff would work.

As for walnut and pecan oils, they last 6-12 mos depending on if they're refrigerated. Since I like eating them, they won't last that long. I'll probably add vit E, ROE or joboba to my soap to help with shelf-life.

 

[Fragola]

There is also the cold pressed sesame oil, which has a much milder smell.

 

[Soapy Gurl]

Definitely add the jojoba, it is a wonderful oil and very skin nourishing. That and shea butter are my two favorites for skin care products. Although I do not use shea butter in anything that you melt, it can go grainy. I also vote on a little grape seed oil, wonderful and light, absorbs easily, as does the almond oil. The jojoba will too. You don't want a greasy balm. If you have or can get vitamin E oil, it will extend the life of your balm and add good properties. I bought mine from MMS, some people have used the oil from vitamin capsules, but I don't know about that. Oh and yes, the jojoba will definitely add to your shelf like. I love it so much I would probably use it as half the oil.

 

[sandman_max]

Wow! I got so many great suggestions I'm going to have to make 2 or 3 different batches. I love the mad-scientist part of all this.